Melkki landscapes on a cloudy day

Melkki is a closed, military owned island in the archipelago of Helsinki. The island of Melkki is pretty close by, one kilometer south of the island of Lauttasaari and five kilometers southwest of the Market Square.

In the 1830’s Melkki was bought by a mr. Benedikt Brenner, a wealthy merchant and shipowner, who lived on the island with his large family until his death. In the 1880’s Melkki was expropriated for military use and it served as a part of the Suomenlinna fortress. Since the 1950’s it has mostly been in recreational use of military personnel. There are dozens of small summer cottages spread throughout the island.

The name “Melkki” most probably derives from the Swedish word for ‘milk’, ‘mjölk’. The island has its fair share of white sandy beaches (by Finnish standards at least!) so the name seems quite appropriate.